Engine:
Reinforced & bored out block -
F7P block is the basis and all they did was add bits of sand to the casting to move the wall of the block out a little bit to give room to accommodate the throw of the diesel crank because it would foul the inside of the block & bored that to a different size
Larger valves -
Just inlet valves 1mm bigger & again just a different number punched into whatever machined them ie: don't machine as much material off and machine a little bit more off to cut the valve seat in the head
New camshafts -
Revised F7P items to suit the different bore & stroke
New, larger pistons -
0.7mm
New baffled sump -
They're not baffled, the P & R's have a slightly different shaped bit of plastic that goes around the oil pump pickup that's it
New tubular exhaust manifold -
A flimsy piece of crap that's only fit for the bin, a standard valver manifold is actually an upgrade Hillpower was doing that to F7R's back in the day with proven results
Oil cooler -
That'll be the exact same oil cooler that's on the Ph1 Valver
Crankshaft borrowed from the diesel engine
Suspension/chassis:
Reinforced subframe
New shocks -
Only to reduce the camber and be a bit softer than on the Cup racer as it's a road car & customers wouldn't like the tyre wear from that
New springs
New suspension arms -
R19 items as is the anti-roll bar - AKA Cup racer items. The R19 & Willy arms are actually different but it's only 1 of the holes for the ball joint bolts being drilled in a slightly different position to reduce the castor
Drivetrain:
New reinforced gearbox -
I'll give you that, a genuine upgrade but not so special when you consider that it was also for the Megane which was under development at the same time
New driveshafts
Interior and exterior we all know the differences.
Small styling differences for marketing purposes to make it look different from the Valver which is virtually identical. Different cloth pattern on what are normal Valver seats, blue carpet and a different coloured background for the dials
Cheaply cobbled together? Not much in it? Come one Paddy!
It was a rush job to get 400 of them produced as cheaply and as quickly as possible so they were allowed to use the same dimensions in the rally cars and stay competitive
If Renault would make such an upgrade to their current sporty variants we would all be licking the windows.
They do to an extent and they all fall under a different brand which is Renaultsport
They went as far as they could have gone in 1993 without making it an unviable undertaking.
They only did that with the Rally cars NOT the road cars which is what this whole discussion is about
Saying that there is not much in it and that is was cheaply cobbled together is, in my opinion, a speculation.
Saying that just means that I can see through the clever marketing & say it like it really is. The Williams is based almost entirely on the Cup car but with a 2 litre engine making the same power which Renault had a very small budget & timeframe in which to produce it. Once produced it formed the basis of the rally car which was then modified to the eyeballs to go rallying.
There really is not much in it between the 16v & Williams, admittedly the Williams is a little bit better but in no way is it as big a difference as many people make out, which is why I was bitterly disappointed when I got to drive a Williams for the 1st time
The fact is that all the above gave the Williams a very different character.
This said, I do share the love with the Clio 16V! It is gorgeous and I really would like to have one.
Fdl76, nice to know that you bought the Portuguese Clio 16V, is it an original cup racer? I'm from Portugal and over there people comment it is not. But in the end, who cares, it must be a hoot to drive
Well done! Is it already UK registered?